Qatar’s Residential Stock to Expand by 9,200 Units by 2024, Says ValuStrat: According to a recent analysis by the consulting and advisory firm ValuStrat, by 2024, Qatar’s housing stock will have increased by 9,200 residential units, of which 40% will be located in Lusail.

According to ValuStrat’s first-quarter forecast, about 6,200 more residential units should be completed by 2025.

Data from Census 2020 indicated that by Q1 2024, Qatar’s residential stock would have increased to 394,000 units, or roughly 148,000 villas and 246,000 apartments.

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The volume of transactions in the residential real estate market fell by 34% in Q1 2024 as compared to Q1 2023. On the other hand, the median transacted price of residential units increased to QR2.8 million, a 3.7% quarter-over-quarter increase. In terms of residential real estate transactions, Doha and Al Rayyan lead.

Strong mortgage activity was also seen in Q1 2024, with 233 deals worth QR13.5 billion.

According to ValuStrat, rental values were on the decline, with the typical monthly rent for residential units falling by 6% annually and 3.6% from the previous quarter. In Qatar, the average monthly rent for an apartment was QR6,000, down 4% from the previous quarter and 6.3% from the year before.

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The average monthly rental price for one-bedroom apartments was QR5,500, for two-bedroom apartments it was QR6,500, and for three-bedroom apartments it was QR8,250. Al Wukair, Al Mashaf, and Al Thumama were the busiest residential districts during the quarter, with a combined total of over 5,000 lease agreements signed out of approximately 15,000 contracts completed overall, according to the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.

Qatar’s Residential Stock to Expand by 9,200 Units by 2024, Says ValuStrat: Year over year and quarter over quarter, the villa rental market shrank by 4% and 1%, respectively. West Bay Lagoon and Al Wakra showed gains in rental income of 3.5% and 1.2%, respectively, in spite of the general downturn. The median advertised rent for a three-bedroom villa was QR11,750; for a four-bedroom villa, QR12,500; and for a five-bedroom villa, QR14,000.

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Approximately 600 of the 5,000 lease agreements completed during the quarter were signed in the most popular villa rental districts, which included Freej Al Soudan, Al Aziziya, Ghanim, and Murrah.

From a base of 100 points in Q1 2021, the ValuStrat Price Index for Residential Capital Values was constant at 97 points, both quarterly and annually.

For the past two years, apartment valuations have been constant at approximately QR10,320 per square meter, unchanged from the preceding quarter. Comparably, the villa market showed no quarterly volatility but saw an annual fall in prices of 1%, culminating at QR5,544 per square meter. With hikes of 1.7%, 4.1%, and 6.3%, respectively, Muaither, Al Thumama, and Old Airport saw the most quarter-over-quarter increases in villa prices.

Residential properties continued to produce 5.9% gross yields, with apartments yielding 8% and villas returning 4.8%. The expected duration of the price-to-rent ratio was 19 years.